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Vlad goes deep, lead vanquished in tie

Vlad goes deep, lead vanishes in tie

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By Lyle Spencer
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MLB.com |

ANGELS 2, DODGERS 2at Anaheim, Calif.Thursday, March 27

Dodgers at the plate: Second baseman Chin-lung Hu had two hits, driving in a run. Rafael Furcal continued his sizzling spring with two hits and two walks, raising his average to .365 with a team-high 27 hits. James Loney's RBI double in the eighth tied the game.

Angels at the plate: Vladimir Guerrero lifted a Derek Lowe fastball over the center-field wall for a two-run, first-inning homer, his fourth of the spring, giving him a club-high 16 RBIs. Guerrero also singled. Maicer Izturis had two singles, raising his average to .383, and Howard Kendrick tripled and singled, lifting his average to .385. Making his home debut in Angels colors, Torii Hunter singled and was robbed of a hit when Juan Pierre speared his line drive.

Dodgers on the mound: Lowe worked three innings and made 54 pitches in his final spring tuneup, giving up two runs on Guerrero's homer and three hits overall. Takashi Saito pitched a scoreless fourth inning, yielding a two-out triple to Kendrick, and southpaw Hong-Chih Kuo struck out three of the six men he faced in two scoreless innings, with Guerrero getting thrown out trying to stretch a single by Andre Ethier in right. Jonathan Broxton pitched a perfect seventh.

Angels on the mound: Jon Garland's last spring start was impressive: five innings, five hits, one earned run, one strikeout, one walk. He threw 68 pitches, 45 in the strike zone. Indicative of good sinking action on his fastball, 10 of his 15 outs came on the ground, including a 3-6-1 double play started by Casey Kotchman at first base. Bidding to nail down a middle relief role, sidewinder Darren O'Day gave up two walks and a game-tying double to Loney in the eighth inning before retiring Matt Kemp to leave two men in scoring position. Rich Thompson, also vying for a relief job, loaded the bases in the ninth on two walks and a single, and retired Pierre to end the threat. He then pitched a perfect 10th.

Spring Training records: Dodgers 9-17; Angels 18-8.

Up next for Angels: Southpaw Joe Saunders makes his final spring fling when he faces the Padres' Greg Maddux at PETCO Park on 7:05 p.m. PT. The game will be televised in Southern California by KCOP (13). Saunders made three Cactus League starts in Arizona, going 1-0 and giving up one earned run in nine innings, and also pitched in a pair of Minor League camp games, reaching the 80s with his pitch count. He's in line to start the third game of the season in Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Up next for Dodgers: Chad Billingsley gets the ball on Friday night at Dodger Stadium against the Red Sox, who send ex-Angel Bartolo Colon out in the 7:40 p.m. PT game that precedes Saturday night's historic return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum between the two clubs. Billingsley is looking to get on the right track after a rough spring: 16 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings (8.31) with seven walks, 13 strikeouts and a .347 batting average allowed.

Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.